Dorothea (also known as Dorothy or Dora) Stickel was born on January 19, 1875 in Bessarabia, South Russia in the town of Wittenberg. Her parents were Johannes Stickel (1831-1911) and Katharina Mueller (b. 1833). Her family can be traced back in a direct line to Peter Stickel (1565-1613).

She met and later married George Scharf on November 30, 1895 while in Wittenberg. Before immigrating to America in 1899 she may have given birth to one or two sets of twins (which apparently died) plus George J. (b. 1897) and Bertha (b. 1898).

First living in Kulm, North Dakota and later on a farm outside of Wishek, North Dakota, Dorothy experienced a harsh life living on the prairie; at first in a sod and wood house along with a number of farm animals. Later on a more substantial home was built. Besides taking care of her growing family (she may have given birth to seventeen children in all) Dorothy also helped her husband with farm chores including plowing fields. Even after moving to the town of Wishek, George and Dorothy lived in a house with no indoor plumbing.

When her husband died in 1936 Dorothy was supported for a time by her children—particularly by her teenage son Ervin who quit school to work in the town grocery store. In 1941 Dorothy was remarried to Christ Bier (1880-1962) who was originally from Worms, South Russia (Find A Grave Memorial # 37852441). Dorothy never learned to read and write English and spoke a kind of Russian/German all of her life.

Dorothy’s pride and joy was always her garden. She loved flowers and harvested many baskets of vegetables, which she canned for the winter months. She cooked all her food on a wood burning stove and finally got an indoor bathroom a few years before her death.

Grandchildren were much loved by Dorothy. A bowl of candy was always kept in her front parlor just for their visits. She died on October 10, 1962 at the age of 87.